Marcos Vows to Go Gracefully If He Loses Out in Vote
President Ferdinand E. Marcos, reacting to a spate of campaign violence, pledged today to step aside gracefully for “a peaceful and successful transition” if he loses the Feb. 7 election to opposition candidate Corazon Aquino.
Marcos, speaking before a Rotary Club luncheon of 1,300 businessmen and civic leaders, also said he has moved to appease his “friends in the American Embassy” by appointing two members to a government commission charged with overseeing the ballot-counting.
Responding to U.S. concerns expressed this week by Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth that two vacancies existed on the Commission on Elections, Marcos named two members and brought the body up to its full strength of nine.
The panel has been accused in past elections of certifying fraudulent votes and its commissioners are accused of being loyal to Marcos.
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